Inspirational Loving Film Set to Hit the Big Screen November 4th

Posted by James, 20 Oct

Richard and Mildred Loving is the interracial couple being featured in the true-life drama film, "Loving, 2016". Richard and Mildred got married in 1958 in Virginia when interracial marriage was outlawed in that state.

One day, the cops burst into their Virginia home and went to the young couple's bedroom demanding to know why the couple were together. According to Mildred, they asked Richard who the woman he was sleeping with was. Mildred replied, "I'm his wife". The sheriff told her, "Not here you're not."

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The couple were charged for miscegenation and thrown in jail. Richard was released the next day but Mildred had to stay a little longer before being handed over to her father. A local judge sentenced Richard to a year in prison declaring:

"Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, Malay and red and He placed them on separate continents, and but for the interference with His arrangement there would be no cause for such marriages."

The judge lightened the sentence by asking them to choose jail term or leave the state for good. So the Lovings moved to Washington, D.C., and got a marriage license. But much as they could love freely, they longed to return to their home town.

The couple decided to fight to be able to be man and wife in Virginia. They sued the state and their case (Loving v. Virginia) went to the U.S. Supreme Court. On June 12, 1967, the court ruled unanimously in their favor. The infamous ruling laid the foundation for the right to marry outside ones race.

Ever since, things have changed for the better. According to the Pew Research Center, 12% of all new marriages in 2013 were interracial; and the numbers keep rising... But even with all these positive developments, race seems to be at the center of this year's elections. We have Black Lives Matter protesters on the streets and in Hollywood, the #OscarsSoWhite campaign, complaining about the award's focus on white actors and producers.

However, its films such as Loving that bring hope to colored talent. During the first press screening of Loving in May at the Cannes Film Festival, the film elicited awards-season talk. Negga and Edgerton are considered serious contenders for Oscar nominations.

Richard died in 1975 at the age of 41 after his car got hit by a drunk driver, whereas Mildred died of pneumonia at 68 in 2008. Before her death, she opened up about the bond she and Richard shared. She said fame isn't what made them fight the state; love did. They just wanted the right to love freely.

"Not a day goes by that I don't think of Richard and our love and how much it meant to me to have that freedom to marry the person precious to me, even if others thought he was the 'wrong kind of person", Mildred said.

Who would have thought then that their story would make history or become a movie? Well, if it weren't for their fight, I can't imagine what the state of interracial marriages would have been today.